Mr Supattanapong, centre, chairs the Apec ministerial meeting on MSME issues in Phuket held on Friday. MSMEs are crucial for restoring the economy because 98% of businesses are MSMEs, which account for 40-60% of Apec's GDP, he said. The talks, which started on Sept 5, ended with four proposals for discussion at the ministerial meeting, said Wimonkan Kosumas, deputy director-general of Osmep. She said the first is the need to make new financial technology simpler for small businesses so they can use it to access funding. Next is a proposal to reduce trade costs and promote state and private procurement projects to help MSMEs better access the overseas markets.
